SaaS Lead Generation

Generating qualified leads is essential for growing a SaaS product. Creating sales funnels that move Information Qualified Leads to Marketing Qualified Leads to Sales Qualified Leads creates opportunities for the business. As a team that not only builds SaaS products for others, we also practice what we preach on our own SaaS solution. Here are some ideas we use for SaaS lead generation, and perhaps your organization could employ a few of these tactics too.

Develop a Content Marketing Plan

You’re living this right now. We try to create informative and engaging content that adds value to our target audience. We’re looking at your pain points and offering solutions. If you look around our website, you’ll find many blog posts and whitepapers that are all part of our long-term content marketing plan. And yes, it all adds traffic and generates leads for us. We recommend looking at your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) and developing a plan for engaging content.

Drive Traffic with Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

We use a variety of tools to optimize our website to drive organic search traffic. Although it’s no guarantee that it generates leads, it opens the door. With traffic, we’ve been able to experiment with offers to capture leads (e.g., whitepapers, trials). SEO starts with researching and using relevant keywords, then optimizing pages and building backlinks. SEO is a relatively inexpensive investment that we consider essential for almost any SaaS product website.

Advertise using Pay-per-Click (PPC)

Targeted PPC ads can drive lead generation by reaching your ideal audience on search engines and social media platforms. As with SEO, you’ll need to use relevant keywords. You’ll also need to write compelling ad copy and drive landing pages to generate leads. PPC requires experimentation and regular performance monitoring — you could easily overspend or waste money if you set it and forget it.

Use Retargeting Ads

Retargeting works by re-displaying your content to previous visitors who didn’t convert. Retargeting ads should be tailored based on particular areas of interest.

Employ Social Media Marketing (SMM)

Social media platforms can help you connect with your target audience. If you share your most valuable content, participate in relevant groups, and run social ads, you can generate qualified leads.

Engage Prospects & Customers with Email Marketing

We love email marketing, which can be one of the most cost-effective marketing weapons in your arsenal. Use targeted email campaigns to nurture leads, sharing your best relevant content. If you layer on segmentation and personalization, your results should improve. And ultimately, if you can automate delivery of relevant content, you’ll truly engage your leads at a higher level.

Capture Leads with Targeted Landing Pages

Smart SaaS companies build highly-targeted landing pages. By building specific content and driving traffic (with SEO/PPC/SMM) to it, you can attract ideal clients and convert.

Ask for Referrals

If you deliver a good customer experience, it should be easy to collect testimonials and get good reviews (social proof FTW!). Encourage customers to refer their colleagues and networks. Consider offering incentives (e.g., a free month of service) for referrals that sign up.

Write Guest Blog Posts

Guest blog posts on relevant websites can increase your visibility. The posts need to (subtly) promote your SaaS product and link back to your website.

Try Old School Direct Mail Campaigns

When others zig, it’s good to zag. A direct mail campaign is a novel way to target potential customers with personalized messaging and offers.

Appear on Podcasts (or Host Your Own)

If you are a guest on relevant podcasts, you can promote your SaaS product to the audience. If you have the resources, put together your own podcast — it can become a new cornerstone in your content marketing.

Participate in Events and Webinars

You can showcase your product at meetups, conferences, or webinars. Take the time to educate your audience, and you may generate quality leads. Interactive environments are more compelling!

Seek Strategic Partnerships

Although it can be tricky to find great partners, complementary businesses can help you reach new audiences. Co-branded content and cross-selling can generate leads.

Engage Influencers

Industry influencers can promote your product, enabling you to engage with their audience. You’ll want to use targeted outreach and solid partnership agreements to maximize the opportunities with influencers (keep an eye on your money!).

Offer a Free Trial

Once you build traffic, a free trial of your SaaS product can turn traffic into potential customers. Use drip email campaigns and effective onboarding to convert trial users into paying customers.

Get Listed on SaaS Review Sites

SaaS review sites like G2, Capterra, and TrustPilot dominate in SEO for many SaaS categories (e.g., CRM, accounting software). Once on those sites, users have access to lots of competitive information. Make sure your product is well represented with accurate information and 5-star reviews…

Integrate with Other SaaS Products

Integrating with other products related to your SaaS is another way to generate new leads. Once integrated, the existing users of the software may see that your tool is compatible (e.g., in an integrations menu).

Implementing Your SaaS Lead Generation Plan

SaaS lead generation drives customer acquisition and fosters long-term customer relationships. It is a vital component of a successful SaaS growth strategy. These seventeen ideas can help you establish trust and credibility with leads, increasing the likelihood of conversion and long-term customer loyalty. By consistently attracting and converting new leads, you can grow market share. Implementing such a SaaS lead generation plan enables you to reach a wider audience at a lower cost.